Letters to the Editor
Published Letters: 109 Editor's Choice: 12
-
"News"
[Read the article: Tucker Carlson unintentionally reveals the role of the American press]
[Read more letters about this article: Here]The problem is that most of the TV and radio "news" folks are personalities, not reporters. To me, when you start noticing the man (or woman) behind the comments, and not the comments as they stand, it has ceased to have news value; it's only entertainment. They make outrageous statements and appear in ridiculous venues for the sake of promoting their brand, and not the news. It's about their egos and not about the news.
Tucker Carlson appeared on Dancing with the Stars -- exactly what type of journalistic set of expectations should I apply to that? Why not The Gong Show?
Should a politician take someone like Carlson seriously after that? Here are the Pentagon Papers and by the way, is Marie Osmond as chunky as she looks on TV? Hardly.
Having picked on the TV and radio, print isn't much better. Our local paper is a Gannett paper, and the only real news is that Gannett is expecting anything printed based on the cuts they keep making to the paper. As a result, the stretched staff relies on AP for anything resembling news. They've now gone to the syndicates for the Entertainment section. Only a few articles are written and printed by the local staff. So how can they possibly be expected to investigate and report on serious matters.
The days of investigative reporting and full reporting seem to have gone the way of Tucker Carlson's claim to journalistic standards.
-
Condi Won't Run
[Read the article: The expertise of Dick Morris]
[Read more letters about this article: Here]She would have to explain why she is a 50-something never married woman who owns property with another woman.
-
Flu and Polio
[Read the article: What the Poling autism case means]
[Read more letters about this article: Here]I agree that some vaccinations are in the best interest of the child and society, such as small pox and polio. However, I continue to fail to see why the flu shot is included as a "needed" vaccination. On small children, 2 vaccines are injected, each with thimerosal.
The flu is rarely fatal, and in fact some studies show that the rate of GB is higher than the rate of mortality from flu shots vs the flu. The cure is worse than the disease.
Cry Arty, my sister developed neurological problems similar to GB from a flu shot, and so did my doctor's nurse. That doctor no longer recommends flu shots for anyone.
-
Gender issues more than race issues?
[Read the article: The funny thing about black men in dresses]
[Read more letters about this article: Here]I was hoping that this article would delve deeper into the issues that the African-American community has with homosexuality. It came close with Dave Chappelle's ridiculous jokes about Brokeback Mountain, but then shies away. Tyler Perry's comments were taken at face value and not analyzed for what his denials mean.
And of course, the irony of Eddie Murphy who does drag and picks up tranny hookers was not mentioned at all.
-
Condi
[Read the article: A McCain-Rice pairing is unlikely]
[Read more letters about this article: Here]Condi will never run for public office, because of the scrutiny that would be given to a 50-something unmarried woman who owns property with a lesbian woman in CA.
The rumors would kill her nomination in less than 2 weeks. I'm sure someone would come forward with stories.
-
Actually it does
[Read the article: Obama rules the Pennsylvania airwaves]
[Read more letters about this article: Here]If anyone survives the onslaught of ads that have been purchased in PA, then perhaps the candidate has some electability issues. Mitt was doomed when they started calculating the amount spent per delegate. Will they do the same in PA?
-
Show me some proof
[Read the article: Is Obama really standing up for gay rights?]
[Read more letters about this article: Here]I'd love to see some data showing that Karl Rove actually made this an issue and was not thought of outside of LGBT community. This would probably come as a shock to VT and MA and Hawaii? These cases had been argued in the years prior to that. Are you really telling that Karl Rove paid off these judges or brought these suits to court?
I'd also be interested to see those surveys showing that ENDA is the issue of most concern to the LGBT community. Most of the people I know feel that the private sector has pretty much made ENDA irrelevant. Almost all major companies and quite a few smaller ones have this policy in place. Access to state and federal benefits are the next stepping stone for most of these people, not ENDA.
Instead, I'm seeing a lot of people spouting "facts" with no details to support them. It's just like Joan and Alex!
-
Disputes
[Read the article: Is Obama really standing up for gay rights?]
[Read more letters about this article: Here]Captain Larab, I'm not arguing that Rove made use of the issue, but Leifgobo said that it was only in the LGBT community prior to Rove making an issue of it. I disagree. SF was marrying people, and MA had made it legal. VT had civil unions. That is far beyond being something only within the LGBT community.
Re: ENDA, I believe I said that the private sector has far outstripped the government on this issue. You only mentioned people who work for the government. My private sector friends (and you have to figure that millions of people work for the Fortune 500) don't feel ENDA is their next step. Most of them already have corporate DP benefits. Their next step will be state/federal recognition of their relationships. Leifgobo said that the first priority of the LGBT community. I just said that's not my experience and what poll/survey/data was used to make that statement. So far I have heard nothing to back that up.
-
Energy policy
[Read the article: Obama, Clinton spar over energy policy, industry donations]
[Read more letters about this article: Here]Why would ANY Democrat vote for an energy policy in which Cheney went to the Supreme Court to keep secret how the meetings went and who attended? It screams special interest group written.
And given our current $120/barrel, $4/gallon prices, I'd say that the special interests have had their way with us. Refineries are not being fully used and production remains low to keep prices high.
Why would Obama vote for a bill like this???